Children&#39;s toy



Nova. 24, 1959 c. cox

CHILDRENS TOY Filed Sept. 25, 1957 fax INVENTCR.

IN I! mm United States Patent Q CHILDRENS TOY Clare Cox, Los'Angeles, Calif. Application September 23, 1957, Serial No. 685,572

4 Claims. (Cl. 27254) 'Thepresent invention relates to childrenstoys and particularly to novel improvements in a device popularly .known as a teetertotter, or seesaw.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is toprovide a childrens toy which adopts, .in a novel way, the features of a seesawtanda rocking horse.

A further object of thepresent invention is to provide .a novel: seesaw constructionadapted to provide the rider the line 22 of Figure 1.

. Figure .3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 ofFigure" 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a childrens toy, in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally at 10. The device includes a stand 12 upon which is pivotally mounted a teeter member 14. The stand 12 may be constructed from any suitable material, such as, for example, wood, and includes a base 16 to which are attached a pair of upright supports 18. Each support 18 is provided with a plurality of parallel vertically displaced transverse openings 24) adapted to receive a bolt 22. The teeter member 14 is suspended on the stand 12 between the support members 18 and is secured thereto by the bolt 22 which passes through one of a series of suitable openings 24 in the teeter member 14. The bolt is secured in place by a nut 26. The position of the teeter member 14 with respect to the base 16 may be adjusted by passing the bolt through any of the transverse openings 20.

The teeter member 14 may be formed from any suitable material such as a board but for increased strength I prefer to use heavy duty aluminum or steel piping. The openings 24 are spaced and parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the teeter member 14. The opening through which the bolt 22 passes may be termed the teeter fulcrum. The position of the fulcrum of the teeter member may be adjusted by changing the hole 24 through which the bolt 22 passes. It will be seen, therefore, that the seesaw may be adapted both to the height and weight of the persons riding it.

As a feature of the present invention, each end 28 of the teeter member 14 is flattened as at 30 and pivotally mounted on each of the flattened ends are rocking horses 32. The rocking horses include a head portion 34 having a handle 36 projecting from either side thereof, a seat portion 38 and a base member 40. The base is connected to the end 28 byany suitable means as, for

example, bolts 42.

.Projecting downwardly from the seat member 38 are a pair of'side members 44 which extendpast the sides of the-base member 40. Secured to the base member 40 is a pivot block46 which is' positioned :beneath the seat member 38 between the side members 44. Passing through the pivot block 46 is a pivot rod 48 which passes through suitable openingsSi) in the side members 44.

'By this construction it will be seen-that the rocking horses '32 pivot on the ends 28 of the teeter member 14 in the same plane as the teetermernber pivots.

Connected to the front and rear portions of the base member-40 and to thefront and rear portions of the seat member 42 are two pairs of eye bolts 52 which are firmly secured to the respective base member and seat member. Each opposing pair of eye bolts carries a spring 54 which in its rest positionis under tension'and tends to stabilize the rocking horse 32 .on the teeter member 14. Consideredindividually, a rider may mount either. rocking horse, pressing his feet against the projecting'ends of the pivot rod 48.andholding-onto the handle 36 and by changing his weightor rocking-back and forth obtain a rocking horse motion.

'As-a further feature of this invention, I have included means :whereby the riders are moved-in an unexpected manner. -Above.the base'16 and'between the supports 18..are.:a pair .of wire securing rods. 56 firmly imbedded .in thegsupportsl8. :Connectedto each of the rods 56 .58- is a' pull cable 60. 'Thecable 60 is suspended be neath the teeter member '14, passes through a positioning by any suitable means such as, for example, an eye bolt eye bolt-62, a guide. eye bolt 64,. and is fastened to the seat member38 as at 66. The guideeye-bolt is secured tothebase member 40, the cable betweenthe seat memvber..38:and the base member :40 lying in aplane substantially perpendicular to both the seat member and the base member.

The teeter member 14 is provided on either side of the stand 12 with a plurality of positioning holes 68. The positioning eye bolt 62 is carried by one of the holes 68 and secured thereto by a nut 70. When the teeter member is substantially parallel to the ground, the cable 60 is slack and exerts no force on either rocking horse 32. When one end of the teeter member 14 is depressed, the cable 60 at the other end becomes taut, as shown at 72. The degree of tautness is controlled by suitably locating the positioning eye bolt 62 along the teeter member 14.

In the operation of the device thus described, the teeter member 14 is positioned on the stand 12 according to the height and relative weights of the riders in the manner described. The riders then mount the rocking horses at either end of the teeter board 14, and seesaw as on any conventional teetertotter. When one end of the teetertotter is down, the cable 60 is slack, exerting no force on the rocking horse 32. As the depressed end rises the cable 60 becomes taut, exerting a force on the pivotally mounted seat member 38'. As a result, the rider experiences a sudden backward motion, in addition to the rising motion normally experienced. As the elevated end starts to fall, the rear spring 54 on the rocking horse 32 which has become compressed under the force exerted by the cable 60, and the front spring 54 which has been stretched, tend to come to equilibrium as the force exerted by the cable 60 decreases. The rider is again free to rock back and forth on the rocking horse as his end of the teeter board is depressed. The elevating end goes through a similar cycle compressing the rear spring 54 as the cable 60 becomes taut.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that E do not wish to be limited to the details set U forth, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a childrens toy including a stand and a teeter member pivotally mounted on said stand, the improvement comprising, in combination; a pair of oppositely disposed rocking horses mounted on said teeter member, each of said rocking horses including a base member secured to said teeter member and a seat member pivotally mounted on said base member, a pair of springs connecting said seat member to said base member whereby the pivoting action of said seat member is damped; a pair of flexible cables fixedly secured to said stand, each of said cables being connected to one of said seat members; and means for adjusting the relative length of said cables whereby motion of said teeter member causes one of said cables to exert force on one of said seat members imparting thereby an independent motion thereto while the other cable becomes slack.

2. A childrens toy comprising: a stand; a teeter member connected to said stand at a teeter fulcrum around which said teeter member pivots; means carried by said stand and said teeter member for adjusting the position of saidteeter fulcrum; a pair of oppositely disposed rocking horses mounted on said teeter member, each of said rocking horses including a base member secured to said teeter member and a seat member pivotally mounted on said base member; and a pair of springs connecting said seat member to said base member whereby the pivoting action of said seat member is damped; a pair of flexible cables fixedly secured to said stand, each of said cables being connected to one of said seat members; said cables being responsive to motion of said teeter member for imparting independent motion to said rocking horses and means for adjusting the relative length of said cables whereby motion of said teeter member causes one of said cables to exert an independent force on one of said seat members while the other cable becomes slack.

3. A childrens toy comprising: a stand; a teeter member pivotally mounted upon said stand; a pair of rocking horses mounted for oscillating motion on said teeter member; and a pair of flexible cables suspended beneath said teeter member, each of said cables having one end thereof fixedly connected to said stand and the other end thereof secured to one of said rocking horses, the length of said cables being greater than one-half the efiective length of said teeter member whereby the vertical displacement of one rocking horse with respect to the other causes one of said cables to exert an independent force on the raised horse while the other cable becomes slack.

4. In a childrens toy, including a stand and a teeter member pivotally mounted on said stand, the improvement comprising, in combination: a pair of oppositely disposed rocking horses mounted on said teeter member; each of said rocking horses including a base member secured to said teeter member, a seat member pivotally mounted on said base member, and a pair of springs connecting said seat member to said base member whereby the pivoting action of said seat member is damped; a pair of flexible cables suspended beneath said teeter member, each of said cables having one end thereof fixedly connected to said stand and the other end thereof secured to one of said rocking horses, the length of said cables being greater than one-half the effective length of said teeter member whereby the vertical displacement of one rocking horse with respect to the other causes one of said cables to exert an independent force on the raised horse while the other cable becomes slack; and means carried by said teeter member for adjusting the relative lengths of said cables.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 847,997 Arney Mar .26, 1907 1,429,289 Maxwell et a1 Sept. 19, 1922 1,519,884 Trowbridge Dec. 16, 1924 2,066,736 Muse Ian. 5, 1937 2,607,590 Wheaten Aug. 19, 1952 

